<p>I am currently a under grad, i was wondering besides my gpa, what else should i get ready asap to make sure i get into a good grad school?
i will have a 3.6 to 3.8 gpa after this semester, depends on 1 of my exam next week.
I barely did any clubs yet since I wanted to focus on schoolworks, i only did intermural basketball and am just a webmaster for a club.
thanks also i am engineering major if that helps</p>
<p>Technical PhD graduate programs don’t care about extra-curriculars… in fact, many of the reviewers will wonder why you aren’t in the laboratory if you list a huge array of club memberships.</p>
<p>Focus on schoolwork, develop an interest in the subject… look for internship and undergraduate research opportunities. </p>
<p>You study engineering… see if your school has a Futuretruck team if you’re into Automotive design/electrical engineering/etc. </p>
<p>Check out the RISE program: <a href=“Http://www.daad.de/rise[/url]”>Http://www.daad.de/rise</a>..</p>
<p>These are the types of extracurriculars the admissions committee will be impressed with - not intramural basketball (unless their EE department has an intense sports rivalry with the CS group downstairs).</p>
<p>Figure out what you want to do and why you want to do it. </p>
<p>A PhD program is a technical apprenticeship… advisors will admit you if they believe you are mature, dedicated, enthused, and ready to take the next step toward becoming a master of your field.</p>
<ol>
<li>Research</li>
<li>Research</li>
<li>Research</li>
</ol>
<p>During the school year and summers. Look into REU programs for the summer. Send some e-mails to some professors and meet to talk to them about what they’re doing and how you can become involved (even if you’re a freshman). Make time in your schedule for it.</p>
<p>Grad school is about two things: academics and research. To get into grad school, they want to see demonstrated aptitude for those two things. </p>
<p>Study hard and aim for as many A’s as possible. Try to learn the material so that it sticks with you, instead of just cramming before the exam - many grad students fail because their high gpa misrepresented their actual knowledge. Work especially hard in your major classes, since most schools don’t care about your history grade.</p>
<p>Get into research as soon as possible - see if you can get money or a grade out of it, but do it for free if you must. Understand that you may not like the first professor or project you get into, so give yourself enough time to find something you can really chase. Try to stick with ANY research you get into for at least a semester - that is enough time to establish a relationship (for an LOR later on) and they usually understand if that is not where you want to stay. Your ultimate goal is to spend a year on something you can call your own, and hopefully get published.</p>
<p>well im going to do either computer or electric engineering and i might declare from general engineering to that soon.
so should I try to find a professor and maybe do some research even during freshman year summer? i mean i dont think the knowledge i have now can help their extensive research at all…:(</p>
<p>Freshman year might be too early to do research seeing as you don’t know anything yet. But seriously, research is a big deal for grad school.</p>
<p>You need to have at least one solid course before you can get involved, but after that you should start trying. In most schools that is somewhere in the sophomore year. Bear in mind that your level of contribution rises with your education, so as a sophomore you will start out by doing much more than thinking or leading.</p>
<p>In the meantime, like ixington mentioned, there are a number of academically oriented clubs and groups that will take you as a freshman. Start there.</p>
<p>You should definitely e-mail professors who are doing things that seem interesting and see if they think you can be involved in some way. If they say it’s too early, then ask them what sort of background you should be developing and what you need to learn before you can be ready. A lot of stuff with research can be picked up with self-study and may have nothing to do with your classes.</p>